Loading equipment



1931 H. WILLIAMS- LOADING EQUIPMENT Filed Nov. 12,

gwuentor 1754277) fitter/ms Patented Dec. 29, 1931 UNITE ,sT;A r -s ATENT: oFF-ics HUBERT L. wILLInMso DETRoIT, mrcnrean, AssIGNoR To GENERAL MoToRs ooR- PORATIQN, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION 011 DELAWARE LOADING EQUIPMENT Application filed November 12, I930. Serial No. 495,096.

This invention relates to the shipmentof freight. and its particular purposeis to afford an improved arrangement for. loading motor vehicles fontranspor tation in freight cars or other carriers. 1. i

Various practices have b'een followed by automobile manufacturers in the shipment of their product from the place of assembly to the -purchaser. Considerabledifliculty'is encountered when vehicles are forwarded in railroad freight cars because of the terrific jolting to which freight cars are subjected when the train starts or stops suddenly and when the individual carsare'being shifted back and forth in railroad yards. I This iolting in itself, or together with the induced odily movement by the automobile onits springs and tires, throws-strains onthe mooring attachments and often causesjbreakage or damage to thevehicle partsengagedby the attachment connections and sometimes the complete tearing. away; of the vehicle.

from its moorings after which further joltmg results in a bumping and amming of one automobile against another and against p p y triangle shape and preferably of wood, which the walls of the freight car-with consequent injurious efl'ect. i

Experience has shown that it-is alm'ostiinpossible, because of the very nature of" an automobile, if not prohibitively expensive, .to securely fasten a. motor car absolutely rigid to insurejimmovabilityevery case. Rigid connections ata; few points only serve to concentrate strains at those pointsand increase the likelihood of breakage. With I thesethings .inmind, there has beenrdeveland which furthermore has :thefeatures of .oped the present-scheme; of loading-which has been found to functionl'admirably well and to be very effective inhold-ingan automobile in a" given location throughout its shipment without damageto any ofits parts low cost, simplicity and accessibility.

The invention .will be better understood upon reference to the accompanying draw preferred embodiment ings illustrating and wherein v r H Fig. 1' is a side elevati'onofan automobile blocked for shipment? Fig.2 is an end elevation on a larger scale of the front axle mooring,and

F '3 is an elevationlooking in the direc- 'tion of'the arrows on line 33 of Fig.2.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1"indic ates"a platform orfloor 0f a boxcar or other carrier on which is to be located the automobile 2. The automobile is shown as being provided with the customary front and rear longitudinally exspectively, for yieldingly suspending the load on the frontand rearaxlesl The rear axle has .at each end thereof a wheel 5 carrywhich is rotatably secured the wheel hub 9 to ma a. demountable wheel (not shown) and a brake drum 10."

A pair of, spaced blocksll of'substantially can be secured to the floor 1 as by nails'12, receive and support the central portion 7 of the axle adjacent the connection with the vehicle I 'springs3, the axle resting within the relativeapex ofthe block. Within the depression there may be located a'lining 16 such as an iron strap or the like, to afford a durable weight supporting surface. The axle is held "tending.halfpelliptic springs 3 and 4 re- 1 ,ly wide circular depression or groove 13 at the down by suitable tie connections which may consists of substantially U-shaped metal straps 14,0ne' at each end of the axle, the eight-of (the strap passing over the hub 9 on the knuckle spindle and its end portions 1 being outturned and secured to the flooring as by means of nails15. Strips or pieces 16' of felt or other similar material are preferably interposed between the hub and strap 14. If the blocks are madeconsiderably higherthan those shown in thedrawi'ngs there would beno necessity for removing the front wheels but for reasons which will appear hereinafter it is deemed better to remove the front wheels.

The rear axle is shown as supported .permit obtained at both places.

through the wheels which are simply chocked or held in position by the blocks 17 the rear end of the car being held down by means of the strap 18 which may be similar to the before mentioned strap 14 and which preferably passes over the rear springand has its ends nailed to the floor. lVith this arrangement the front of the vehicle sits closer to thefloor than does the rear end and this inclination among other things serves to increase available clearance in the freight car.

From the above description it willbeseen that the load at the front of the vehicle will be transferred directly to the floor fromthe axle through the supporting blocks, which are located closely-adjacent the spring connections where the load is imposed upon the axle through the springs. For this reason the axleand associatedparts are not subjected to any appreciable strains. The hold downs 14, located at the-extreme ends of the axle, serve to locate the car in proper position but are sufficiently flexible to accommodate or a slight amount of sliding of the axle on the'surface of the depression l3 upon jolting, such movement being cushioned to a certain extent by the pneumatic tire 6. By'supporting the load atone point and using the hold downs at another point on the axle a braking action on the movement of the car is It will be-seen that the front axle is not loadedrigidly and this arrangement, besides freeing the axle from any twisting strains, reducesthe tendency to shear ofi' theaxle block, and furthermore the distribution of the braking action reduces the tendency toward bendingof the usual tie rod connecting the steering knuckle.

I claim:

1. Loading equipment, including means to receive and support the entire weight of the axle intermediate the wheels and-a hold down device at each wheel hub spindle.

2. Car loading equipment, including sup porting means for the axle insidethe wheel through which the wholeload is carried and hold down means-at the end of the axle outside the wheel.

3. Car loading equipment, including means to support the axle adjacent its connection with the vehicle springsand hold down means adjacent opposite ends of the axle.

4. Car loading equipment, including supporting means for engagement with the axle in spaced relation with the ends thereof to carry the entire load. and hold down devices engageable with the steering knuckles at the ends of the axle.

5. Car loading equipment, including a support for a central portionof the axle which permits slight relative movement and a'fiexible hold down for the steering knuckle.

6. Car loading equipment, including means tosupport the car axle at a point remote from its ends and through which the whole load is engaged attheir bights with the upper sides of steering knuckles on the ends of the axle and to be secured at their ends to the plat' form.

8. The combination with a loading platform andavehicle to be loaded, of means on the pl atform to receive and support an axle of the vehicle intermediate the ends thereof and aiten'sionedtie connection between the platformand the end ofthe axle.

"9.The combination with a loading platform and a vehicle to be loaded,'of'means on the platform to receive and support an axle of the vehicle at a pointspaced inwardly from the endthereof,and other means on the platform engageable in non-supporting relation 'withth'e end of the axle to locate the same.

10, Vehicle -loading means, including in combination with a vehlcle and a carrier therefor, of supportingmeans on thecarrier engaging the vehicle axle in spaced relation to the ends of the axle, and locating means associated *withthe carrier and engageable in non-supporting relation with the axle'adjacentitsend. I

11. The method of loading a vehicle for transportation in a carrier, including sup porting the weight of the vehicle by its axle at points spaced inwardly from the ends of the axe and "then tying down the ends of the ax e.

12. The'method of's hipping vehicles'which includestying down the ends of a vehicle axle and supporting the weightofthe vehicle at points spaced inwardly from the axle ends.

13. The method of shipping-vehicles which includestying downthe ends of a vehicle axle and supporting'the weight of the vehicle at points adjacent the connections between the axle and vehicle springs.

14. The method of shipping vehicles which includes removing the front wheels, chocking the rear-wheels, supporting the front axle at points remote from its 'ends and tying down .the front wheel spindles.

.15. Equipment to load on a carrier a vehicle having its front wheels removed including chocks engageable with the rear wheels, blocks supporting the frontaxle remote from its ends and tie connections for the ends of the front axle.

16. Means to load a vehicle through an axle of the dropped center type, including bracing means engageable with a rotatable vpart on the end of the axle and supporting means for the dropped center portion of the axle having an arcuate bearing surface whose arc is struck from a center located substantially on the axis of said rotatable part.

17. Means to load a vehicle through an axle of the type having an end portion out of alinement with an intermediate portion, including a supporting block receiving the intermediate'portion of the axle and having a bearing surface of arcuate formation With the center of the are substantially in line with the end portion of the axle and a bracing element engageable With said end portion. 7

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HUBERT L. WILLIAMS. 

